Fresh from The Spring Farm: Summer Squash

By Jenny Spring

Did you know that a zucchini is a summer squash? Summer squash comes much before winter squash and they are very high producing plants. It is by far one of the best producing vegetables on our farm. You can use them in many recipes. Examples are moist muffins, hearty stews, squash noodles, stir fries, coleslaws, fritters, pizza, pasta and more!

Gardening Tips:

The Squash beetle can be a devastation to your squash and cucumber plants. This looks like a tiny yellow and white beetle and it will eat the entire flower off your plants. Scout your plants every morning and squish all the cucumber beetles you can find with your fingers.

Summer squash also loves the heat. Make sure there is no more chance of frost when you put them outside. In the heat of the summer they will produce like crazy.

Also make sure they have LOTS of run to grow. These are huge plants that need space.

If possible, water from below. The leaves of a squash plant don’t like to get wet. If you can set up a drip irrigation that would be ideal.

Squash blossoms are not only beautiful but this lovely flower is edible. It’s the flower part of the Cucurbita family and has a mildly sweet flavor. It’s extremely tender and wonderful stuffed, fried, baked, or sautéd. Squash blossoms have a very short shelf life so you want to prepare them within a day of harvest. Male and female flowers can be used interchangeably, however, leaving the female flowers will allow the plant to produce actual fruit so harvesting the male flowers only is best.

The summer squash harvest is the celebration of summer harvest. Our first harvest will be ready this week.

Some of the varieties I grow in Huntsville look like the following:

Recipes

Sweet Corn & Summer Squash Gnocchi

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package of gnocchi
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 ounces good quality feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup basil, julienned
• salt + pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook for about 2 minutes (or until they rise to the top of the water). Drain and return the gnocchi to the pan. Add 1 Tablespoon of the butter to the gnocchi and toss well.
2. Heat remaining 3 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the butter until it begins to bubble and turn light brown (be careful not to burn the butter!). Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for about 1 minute.
3. Stir in the summer squash, zucchini and corn. Cook, stirring often until the vegetables begin to brown up a bit. About 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the cooked gnocchi and toss well. Squeeze 2 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice into the pan and top with feta, squash blossoms (if using), basil and plenty of salt + pepper.
5. Divide among plates and serve warm with a sprinkle of more cheese if desired.

Squash Blossom Pizza

Basil Pesto ingredients:

• 2 cups packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + additional to thin if necessary
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pizza ingredients:

• 1 pound pizza dough
• flour for rolling out your dough
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 4-6 squash blossoms
• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 500ºF with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
2. Prepare the pesto by combining the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor. Process until coarsely chopped. With the motor running slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle in a few healthy pinches of salt and pepper. Taste test and adjust flavors as needed.
3. Roll out your pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread about 1/4 cup of pesto over the crust followed by the sliced zucchini, squash blossoms, ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and transfer to a baking sheet.
4. Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. About 10-12 minutes.
5. Let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Jenny Spring and Oliver Wolfe are co-owners of The Spring Farm with Andrea and Brian Currie. Each week, Jenny will share a recipe featuring in-season, Muskoka-grown produce from their local farm, which is just five kilometres from downtown Huntsville. She’ll also share a gardening tip about the chosen vegetable. You can find these vegetables and more at the Huntsville Farmers’ market on Thursdays after Victoria Day in the Canadian Tire parking lot, or at The Spring Farm gate on Bethune Road North starting in June.

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